Thought I would post an update after our (great) trip. Thanks for all who provided suggestions in this forum and others that I searched / read.
11/11 Arrived into MEL around 2pm after the long IAD-LAX-SYD-MEL [made even longer because LAX-SYD leg was diverted to Brisbane low on fuel / strong headwind).
Rented a car and drove out of Melbourne to Geelong where we stopped for a quick bite to eat. Continued on a drove the 1 to Warnambool. Weren't sure exactly how far things were apart and were we would make it each day so didn't have any reservations. Got in about 7pm and found a fine (but not spectacular) room at Old Maritiime in for AUS $99. It was basically a motel but we didn't really care. Walked into town (about 2 blocks long) and had a lite dinner and called it a night. Didn't seem like anything too compelling in town.
11/12 DAY Got up early (for 1st day on vacation). Drove out of of Warnambool at 8am. Drove for about an hour along GOR back towards Melboure with a few pit stops at scenic overlooks. Stopped in a small town of Port Campbell for breakfast. A few decent choices, but ended up just going to a convenience store and getting some fruit, yogurt and cheese and eating outside on a picnic table. Drove the rest of the day stopping every 20 or 30 minutes at various scenic lookouts. Did the 12 Apostles. Stopped in Apollo Bay for lunch. Saw the Lorne Hotel which had been recommended. Seemed to be by far the nicest hotel we saw on the whole stretch from Warnambool to Queenscliff, but certainly could have been others we did not see.
11/12 NIGHT - drove as far as Queenscliff and got a room at the VUE Grand hotel upon arriving for AUS $170 per night. It was sort of an odd town. We enjoyed ourselves, but felt like we were in a strange movie about a ghost town. Queenscliff seemed like one of those towns that was an old grand "seaside retreat" 75 years ago and not much has changed. Our hotel seemed similar. It was nice, but also could have been used as the setting for some kind of XFiles or Alfred Hitchcock movie where the newspapers are all dated 1958 (but the only other decent hotel in town looked the same) It was also a Sunday night in spring before the summer rush starts so the town was deserted.
We had a FANTASTIC Dinner at a small restaurant / inn called the ATHELSTANE HOUSE. It was not cheap, but not outrageous. Menu looked terrific and we wanted to try a few things but were trying not to overeat so we asked if we could share a few things and they were more than happy to accomodate. We ordered a salad, appetizer and entree and the brought each course out with small plates for us to split. Appetizer was one of best ever had - a crab and pumpkin ravioli. Total bill including 3 glasses of wine was ~ AUS $100. A fish entree was very good also.
11/13 - got up and had a good breakfast at the hotel (included in B&B price). drove 1/2 mile to catch the car ferry from Queenscliff to Sorento. Nothing special, but ferry was fun way to start the day. Drove on to Phillips Island. Did the animal reserve and saw koalas, etc. Had lunch in a nice little cafe. Were planning to find a hotel and stay overnight on Phillips island to see the Penguin Parade at sunset, but it was exceptionally cold and raining that day and we weren't particularly prepared for that so it would have been miserable to sit outside for 2 hours. Last minute change of plan and we drove into Melbourne in the afternoon (about 2 hours). Called ahead and found a room at the Lygon Carlton Downtowner on the edge of MEL's Little Italy.
Enjoyed walking melbourne in the evening. Rest of the trip was terrific. A week in sydney, saw some friends that live outside of Sydney, one night in Hunter Valley and finished it up with a few days in Palm Cove at the Outrigger outside of Cairns. Also flights were great - Used SWUs on UA to upgrade and we were in 15A/B both ways but won't go into detail as this post was specifically about Great Ocean Road.
TMayer